1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a component for assembling a football during fabrication. The component comprises a panel of material positioned below the laces of the football, for protecting the bladder against puncture primarily during fabrication. The panel has a lateral extension for engaging the inflation valve of the football, thus maintaining the novel panel in place during fabrication.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In the manufacture of inflatable balls having lacing on the exterior, puncture of the bladder is a known hazard. In particular, American footballs are particularly susceptible to puncture due to traditional design in which a longitudinal gap is formed in the cover. This gap would expose a portion of the bladder except for the presence of a flap of material, or protective panel, placed there to remedy this deficiency.
During manufacture of an American football, the panel is set in place, and the assembler maneuvers the bladder into place within the cover, with the protective panel glued in place on the bladder. Two problems arise from this procedure. The first is that as the ball awaits the lacing step, the glue dries, and the panel is no longer secured properly to the bladder. The panel is then free to move out of its intended location, and must be reinstalled and reglued. This problem increases the labor required to assemble a football.
A second problem is that glue is apt to clog the holes that receive the lacing. The clogged holes obstruct the lacing operation.
The prior art fails to address this problem. Constructions of inflatable balls will reveal that while reinforcing or protective panels are known, the present invention is not disclosed. A reference which at first appears to show aspects of the invention is German Pat. Document No. 810,365, dated Aug. 9, 1951. A panel shown therein has upper and lower layers for enveloping a disc which secures a valve tube in a desired condition. Although this panel is located below laces, it functions differently from that of the present invention. In the German document, the panels joined by lacing abut one another. There is no gap as is present in an American football. Thus, the panel is not required to prevent hazardous exposure of the bladder.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,002,928, issued to George L. Pierce on Sep. 12, 1911, and 2,874,965, issued to Orville R. Martin on Feb. 24, 1959, both illustrate reinforcing panels. The former invention addresses breakage of the neck of the bladder by covering the same with a protective patch. The latter illustrates a reinforcing lamination located below the laces of a molded rubber football.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,097, issued to Thomas Kennedy et al. on Mar. 24, 1992, shows an internal patch serving as a counterweight, for maintaining balance of a ball thrown with spiralling in-flight rotation.
French Pat. No. 590,480, dated Jun. 17, 1925, sets forth a flap for sealing a gap enabling the filling tube of the bladder to exit the cover.
German Pat. Document No. 1,084,180, dated Jun. 23, 1960, describes a flap for covering a valve opening.
These inventions and patents do not teach anchoring of a protective flap for covering an exposed portion of a ball bladder by engagement with the valve structure of the bladder. Thus, none of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.